Tripper or deliverer for conveyers.



No 847,309. PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907. G. K. BALDWIN & L. MOSS.

'TRIPPER OR DELIVERER FOR GONVEYE RS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES: V

ATTORNEY No. 847,309. PATENTED MAR. 1 9, 190?.

0. K. BALDWIN & L. MOSS. TRIPPBR 0R DELIVBRER FOR GONVEYERS,

APPLICATION FILED MATH, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS 80-.WA5HINGTON. D. c,

PATENTED MAR. 19 1907. U. K. BALDWIN & L. MOSS. TRIPPER OR DELIVERER FORGONVEYBRS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1905.

3 SHEBTFSHEBT S.

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V 1.11:: mlnllllr WI T 11/5885 8:

XHE NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON n. r.

proved mechanism by means of which move- UNITE CLARENCE KEMBLE BALDWINYORK,

AND LINCOLN MOSS, OF NEW TRIPPER OR DELIVERER FOR CONVEYERS.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed May 16, 1905. Serial No. 260,653.

To (I/Zl whom, it may concern: 1

Be it known that we, CLARENCE KEMBLE l BALDWIN and LINCOLN Moss, bothcitizens l of the United States, and residents of Manhattan, in thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented new and useful.lmprovements in Trippers or Deliverers for Conveyers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to trippers or deliverers for conveyers, and moreparticularly to trippers or deliverers for belt conveyers, the principalobject of the invention being to provide a traveling tripper ordeliverer of such construction that the ordinary trackrails andsupporting-wheels which are commonly required to provide for the travelof the tripper or deliverer may be dispensed with.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tripper or delivererfor belt conveyers which may rest directly upon the supportingidlersprovided for the conveyer-belt and be caused to travel to and fro uponthese idlers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the tripper ordeliverer with an imment in either direction may be imparted theretofrom the conveyer belt without changing the direction of travel of thebelt and without making use of traction-wheels engaging a track orequivalent structure.

The invention also contemplates the production of a novel tripper ordeliverer for belt conveyers of very simple and inexpensive design whichis adapted for thoroughly satisfactory and efficient operation.

With these objects in view and others, which will hereinafter appear,the invention comprises certain novel features of construction,combination, and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafterdescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichcorresponding parts are designated by similar characters of referencethroughout several views. It is, however, to be understood that changesmay be made in the apparatus without departing from the spirit of theinvention or exceeding the scope thereof, which is clearly defined inthe appended claims.

A tripper or deliverer constructed according to the present inventioncomprises an elongated or extended base of sufficient length to extendover and rest at the same time upon a plurality of spaced supportingmembers, a framework for the support of two or more bend-pulleys orother suitable devices for causing the belt to discharge its load, and ahopper or its equivalent to receive the material discharged from theconveyer-belt. The invention also comprises means for retaining thetripper or deliverer in proper alinement with respect to the supportsupon which it rests and suitable mechanism for imparting movement to thetripper or deliverer in the direction of its length.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a tripperconstructed according to this invention and showing the arrangement ofthe supporting-idlers upon which the tripper travels, the direction oftravel of the conveyer-belt, and a cable extending above the tripper forimparting movement thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view uponthe plane 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated. Fig. 3 is atop plan view of the base of the tripper, the superstructure beingremoved. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of a tripper of thecharacter shown in the preceding figures, but provided with a differenttype of mechanism for operating the tripper. Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryview, inside elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the tripperoperatingmechanism shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in planand partly in horizontal section, of the tripperoperating mechanism, theview being on the same scale as Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings by the refer ence characters marked thereon, Ddesignates the decking of a belt conveyer which is con structed as usualand bears on its upper surface a plurality of suitably-spacedtroughingidlers T. Beneath the decking and between the side pieces are'arranged return-idlers R of standard construction. A conveyerbelt B isarranged for travel over the troughing andreturn idlers in the usualmanner, the belt-driving devices being omitted, as they form no part ofthe present invention. Each of the troughing-idlers T consists ofa'plurality of pulleys or rollers 1, each idler having preferably threesuch pulleys or rollers arranged in the same vertical plane, the middlepulley or roller turning on a horizontal axis and the side pulleys orrollers being supported upon inclined axes, as shown. The

per H at points 11 near the top and passing 'In order to keep the baseof the tripper in pulleys or rollers 1 may be carried by sup- 1porting-brackets of any suitable construction, such as 2 but in allcases a small space is left between the adjacent ends of the pulleys orrollers, for reasons that will hereinafter appear.

The base of the tripper comprises a plurality of longitudinal members 3,of planking or the like, and suitable cross-pices 4, by which thelongitudinal pieces 3 are connected. The number of longitudinal pieces 3corresponds, preferably, to the number of pulleys or rollers 1 of eachdriving-idler, three such pieces being shown in the constructionillustrated and the several pieces being arranged to cor-- respond tothe surfaces of the pulleys or rollers upon which they are designed torest.

proper alinement relative to the supportingidlers, guide ribs or flanges5 are provided which extend downward from the under surface of the baseand lie in the spaces left be tween the adjacent ends of the pulleys orrollers. These ribs or flanges 5 may be made of strips of sheet-iron orthe like and are preferably perpendicular to the axes of the inclinedside pulleys or rollers 1., as best shown in Fig. 2.

The framework F ofthe tripper may be of any suitable construction, asmay be the hopper H, which is mounted on the framework and is providedwith one or more lateral discharge-chutes C. In the form of tripperillustrated the discharge of the load upon the conveyor-belt is effectedby means of two bend-pulleys 6 and 7, respectively, which are carried byshafts journaled in suitable bear-. ings upon the framework of thetripper. The upper pulley 6 is arranged somewhat in advance of the lowerpulley 7, so that the belt B in passing around the two bend-pulleysdescribes an S-shaped or ogee curve, thus causing the material carriedby the belt to pass into the hopper H as the belt travels around theupper bend-pulley.

The means for operating the tripper may be simply a cable 10, asindicated in Fig. 1, the cable having its ends attached to the hoparoundsuitable guide-sheaves and driving devices (not shown) near the ends ofthe conveyer structure. If, however, it is desired to derive the powerfor operating the tripper from the belt, the mechanism illustrated ingagement of a brake.

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 may be employed. In this mechanism a cable 12 isemployed, which is approximately fixed in position and is passed one ormore times around a drum carried by the tripper and driven by means ofthe belt. The cable 12 is preferably fixed to a suitable anchor 13 atone end and at the other end is provided with a counterweight 14 ortensionspring. If the counterweight 14 is employed, the cable passesover a guide- 6 5 sheave 15. The cable 12 is preferably passed two orthree times around a drum 16, which is rotatably mounted upon a stubshaft 17, journaled in a bracket 18, provided on the tripper-frame. Thedrum 16 is pref- 'erably provided with external cogs 19 near the marginadjacent to the tripper-frame, and near the other margin the drum isprovided with a smooth surface 20 for the en- In order to impartmovement to the drum 16 in either direction, a gear-wheel 21 is rigidlyconnected with the shaft of the lower bend-pulley 7, and suitableintermediate gears are provided -for transmitting motion from thegear-wheel 21 to the drum through the external cogs 19. Theseintermediate gears are carried by a rocker 22, which is keyed to thestub-shaft 17 and is preferably arranged between the drum 20 and thebracket 18. The rocker 22 presents an approximately horizontal arm 23,at the end of which is mounted a single intermediate gear.

or pinion 24, which is always in mesh with the cogs 19 of the drum andis adapted. to engage also with the gear-wheel 21. The

rocker 22 also has a substantially vertical arm 25, hearing twointermeshing pinions 26 and 27, the former being adapted to mesh withthe gear-wheel 21 and the latter being always in mesh with the cogs 19on the druml As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the pinion 24 is in engagementwith the gear 21 and the tripper will be caused to travel in thedirection opposite to the movement of the belt as long as the pinion. 24remains in engagement with the gearwheel. To shift the rocker 22 andthrow the pinions24 and 26 into and out of engagement with the gear 21,a lever-arm 28 is provided on the rocker, which is preferably providedat its free end with a handle portion 29, and this arm 28 is shown asprovided with a spring-pressed latch-bolt 30, bearing a roller 31 at itsoperative end for engagement with. a series of rounded notches 32, 33,and 34, formed in a stationary rack 35 upon the tripper-frame. l/Vhenthe roller 31, carried by thelatch-bolt 30, engages the notch 32, asshown in Fig. 5, the pinion 24 will be held in engagement with thegear-wheel 21. When the roller 31 is in the notch 34 at the oppo siteend of the rack 35, the pinion 26 will mesh with. the gear-wheel 21, andwhen the roller 31 lies in the intermediate notch 33 the gear-wheel 21will be out of mesh with both pinions 24 and26.

The shifting of the rocker 22 may be ac complished by hand or byautomatic devices which are shown in connection with the rocker in Figs.3, 5, and 6. hen the rocker is shifted by hand, it is done by simplygrasping the handle 29 at the end of the arm 28 and swinging the arm inthe direction desired, and this method of shifting the rocker 22 isemployed when it is desired to throw both pinions 24 and 26 out ofengagement the finger and securing it in adjusted posiwith thegear-wheel 21 and hold the tripper stationary. The tripper is heldstationary when the pinions 24 and 26 are out of engagement with thegear-wheel 21 by means of a brake having a brake-shoe 36, which contactswith the braking-surface 20 of the drum. The shoe 36 is pivotallyattached to the arm 37 of a bell-crank lever fulcrumed on a pin or stud38, which projects laterally from the base of the rack 35. The other arm39 of the bell-crank extends beneath the stub-shaft 17, upon which thedrum 16 is mounted, and it is provided with. a cam 40 at its free end,over which an adjustable finger 41 moves. The finger 41 is rigidlyattached to the stub-shaft 17, so that the movement of the rocker 22causes a corresponding movement of the finger 41. The stub-shaft ispreferably pierced to permit the finger 41 to extend through it, and theportion of the linger which extends through the stub-shaft is preferablythreaded, as shown, and two adjustingnuts 42 are provided for adjustingtion. As will be seen by close inspection of Fig. 5, when the pinions 24and 26 are out of engagement with the gear-wheel 21 and the roller 31 ofthe latch-bolt 30 engages the notch 33 the end of the finger 41 willengage the highest part of the cam 40 onthe end of the arm 39 and willhold the brake-shoe 36 in frictional engagement with the braking-face ofthe drum. As the face of the brake-shoe 36 becomes worn through use thefinger 41 can be adjusted by means of the nuts 42 to compensate for thewear and insure satisfactory action of the brake.

To effect the reversal of the direction of movement of the 1 tripperautomatically, stops 43 of suitable construction are provided atsuitable points upon the sides of the conveyer-decking, and a lever 44,which is operatively connected with. the rocker 22, is arranged forcontact with these stops. The lever 44 is of the bell-crank type and isfulcrumed on a pin or stud 45, projecting laterally from a downwardextension from the rack 35. The arm 46 of the lever, which extendsdownward and is adapted to contact with the stops 43, is preferablyslightly flexible in order to take up gradually any shock of impact withthe stops and permit the shifting of one of the pinions 24 and 26 out ofengagement with the gear-wheel 21 and the shifting of the other pinioninto engagement with the gear-wheel 21 without danger of stripping anyof the cogs. The other arm 47 of the lever 44 is rigid and is connected,by means of a link 48, with the arm 30 of the rocker 22.

The operation of the automatic reversing devices will be clear from aninspection of the drawings. When the tripper-operating mechanism is inthe position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and the tripper is moving in the di-1 rection opposite to the movement of the belt, the arm 46 of the lever44 will be brought into contact with the stop 43 at the left of Fig. 4and the arm 23 of the rocker will be raised, the roller 31 being thrownout of the .notch 32 and forced up to the notch 34 by this movement ofthe rocker. As the roller 31 passes over the notch 33 the brake-shoe 36will engage the surface 20 of the drum, and so partially stop themovement of the trip per, so that when the roller 31 reaches the notch34 and the pinion 26 meshes with the gear-wheel 21 the tripper will bepractically stationary and be ready to begin its reverse movementwithout imposing an excessive strain upon any of the gearing.

At the opposite end of its movement the action of the tripper-reversingmechanism will be precisely the reverse of that above described, thepinion 26 being thrown out of engagement with the gear-wheel 21 and thepinion 24 being thrown into engagement therewith.

From the foregoing description of the construction and operation of ourinvention it will be seen that all need of track-rails andsupporting-wheels for the tripper is eliminated and that the tripper cantravel freely to and fro upon the idlers provided for the support of theconveyenbelt. It will also be noted that the ribs or flanges on thebottom surface of the tripper-base will keep the tripper in properalinement with the idlers as effectively as the flanges ordinarilyprovided upon the supporting-wheels which travel on the track-rails.

The tripperoperating mechanism described and shown, while primarilydesigned for a tripper which rests directly upon fixed idlers instead oftraveling on rails, may also be employed in connection with. trippers ofthe latter type, and we do not limit ourselves to its use in connectionwith the former type of tripper.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A tripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adaptedto extend over and rest upon a plurality of fixed spaced. supportsforming part of a series of such. supports, over which. the tripper maybe moved. in a longitudinal direction.

2. A tripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adaptedto rest directly upon a plurality of fixed spaced supports, and meansfor moving the tripper longitudinally over such. supports.

3. In a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, an elongated base adapted toextend over and rest upon several members of a series of fixed spacedsupporting members, and means for imparting longitudinal movement to thetripper or deliverer from the conveyer;

4. The combination with a tripper or deliverer for conveyers having anelongated base adapted to extend over and rest upon several members of aseries of fixed spaced supports, of mechanism for imparting movement tothe tripper or deliverer in either direction from the conveyer withoutchanging the direction of movement of the conveyer.

5. The combination with a tripper or deliverer for conveyers having anelongated base adapted to extend over and rest upon several members of aseries of fixed supports, of means for transmitting movement in eitherdirection to the tripper or deliverer from the conveyer, and means forautomatically reversing the direction of movement of the tripper ordeliverer without changing the direction of movement of the conveyer.

6. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supporting members, ofa tripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adapted toextend over and rest upon a plurality of said supports.

7. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supports, each providedwith an antiiriction roller or pulley, of a tripper or deliverer forconveyers having an elongated base adapted to extend over and rest upona plurality of said supports.

8. The combination with a conveyer having a series of spaced troughingidler-pulleys, of a tripper or deliverer for the conveyer having anelongated base adapted to extend over and rest directly upon a pluralityof said troughing idler-pulleys.

9. Atripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adaptedto extend over 7 and rest upon several members of a series of fixedspaced supporting members over which the tripper or deliverer may bemoved longitudinally, and means for preventing lateral shifting of thetripper or deliverer upon said supporting members.

10. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supporting members, ofa tripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adapted toextend over and rest upon a plurality of said supporting members overwhich the tripper or deliverer may be moved longitudinally, and meansfor keeping the tripper or deliverer properly alined with. reference tosaid supporting members.

11. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supporting members,each provided with one or more antifriction rollers or pulleys, of atripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated base adapted toextend over and rest upon a plurality of said supporting members, andmeans carried by the tripper or deliverer 'for engaging the ends of oneor more of the rollers carried by each supporting member to preventlateral shifting of the tripper or deliverer.

12. A tripper or deliverer for conveyers having an elongated baseadapted to extend over and rest upon a plurality of fixed spacedsupporting members over which the tripper or deliverer is adapted tomove longitudinally, said base being provided on its under sidewith'longitudinal ribs or flanges to prevent lateral shifting of thetripper or deliverer upon its supports.

13. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supports, each havinga plurality of antifriction rollers or pulleys arranged end to end andslightly separated, of a tripper or deliverer for conveyers having anelongated base adapted to extend over and rest upon a plurality of saidsupports, said base being provided on its under surface withlongitudinal ribs or flanges extending between the rollers or pulleysprovided on said supports.

14. The combination with a series of fixed spaced supports, each havinga plurality of antifriction rollers or pulleys mounted upon axesslightly inclined to the horizontal, of a tripper or deliverer forconveyers having an elongated base adapted to extend over and rest upona plurality of said supports, said base being provided on its undersurface with longitudinal ribs or flanges arran "ed perpendicular to theinclined axes of said rollers or pulleys and adapted to engage the endsoi said rollers or pulleys to prevent lateral shitting of said tripperor deliverer.

15. The combination with a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, of a drumcarried thereby, a fixed cable wound one or more times around said drum,and means for rotating the drum to impart movement to the tripper ordeliverer.

16. The combination with a conveyer of a tripper or deliverer for theconveyer, a drum carried by the tripper or deliverer, a fixed cablewound around the drum and mechanism operated by the conveyer forrotating the drum to impart movement to the tripper or deliverer.

17. The combination with a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, of a drumcarried thereby, a cable fixed at one end and pro vided at the otherwith a tension device, said cable being wound around said drum, andmeans for rotating the drum to impart movement to the tripper ordeliverer.

18. In operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, thecombination with a drum carried by the tripper or deliverer, of a cablewound around the drum and held stationary and under tension, andmechanism for rotating the drum.

19. In operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, thecombination with a fixed cable, of a drum carried by the tripper havingthe cable passed one or more times around it, a member also carried bythe drum carried by the tripper or deliverer and having the cable woundaround it, mechanism driven by the conveyer for imparting rotation tosaid drum in either direction, means-for automatically reversing thedirec tion of rotation of said drum.

21. I11 operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, afixed cable, a drum carried by the tripper or deliverer and having thecable wound around it, means for imparting rotation to said drum, and abrake acting upon said drum to check the movement of the tripper ordeliverer.

22. In operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, afixed cable, a drum about which the cable is wound, said drum beingcarried by the tripper or deliverer, mechanism driven by the conveyerfor imparting rotation to said drum, means for throwing said mechanisminto and out of driving connection with said drum, a brake forengagement with said drum, and means operative when said mechanism isthrown out of engagement to apply said brake.

23. In operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, afixed cable, a

drum carried by the tripper or deliverer and. having the cable passedaround it, mechanism for imparting rotation to the drum, a brake adaptedto act upon the drum, and means for simultaneously throwing said it maybe thrown into and out of operation,

a brake adapted to engage the drum, and means carried by the rocker forthrowing said brake into and out of engagement with the drum.

25. In operating mechanism for a tripper or deliverer for conveyers, thecombination with a fixed cable, a drum carried by the tripper ordeliverer and having the cable passed around it, of means for rotatinthe drum, a brake adapted to engage the rum to bring the tripper ordeliverer to rest, a brake-actuating member having a cam thereon, and ashifting member adapted to engage said cam to apply and release saidbrake.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of twowitnesses.

CLARENCE KEMBLE BALDWIN. LINCOLN MOSS. Witnesses:

BAXTER MORTON, H. RICHARD WoBsE.

